Publications

May 25, 2016
Comment

How Consumers and Businesses are Reshaping Public Health

By: John A. Quelch

Healthcare and education are two issues in which citizens around the world, rich and poor, are passionately interested. It has long been appreciated that the way that a society treats its youngest and oldest members says much about its moral maturity. Economic... View Details

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Research Summary

Overview

Hisano’s research addresses the social and cultural implications of technological development and economic changes mainly in the twentieth-century United States. By analyzing the regulation, manipulation, and presentation of food color, her current book project links... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Consumer Behavior; Agribusiness; Food And Environment; Business Strategy; Commercialization; Business And Government; Advertising; Goods and Commodities; Food; History; Government and Politics; Marketing; Business and Government Relations; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

12 Feb 2016
Op-Ed

The Real Jobs Tragedy in the US: We've Lost the Skills

who will not earn a four-year college degree. Joe Fuller is a professor of Management Practice at the Harvard Business School and on the faculty team of the School’s U.S. Competitiveness Project. Matt Sigelman is CEO of Burning View Details

Keywords: by Joe Fuller and Matt Sigelman; Manufacturing; Electronics

October 1999 (Revised January 2003)
Case

Buckman Laboratories (A)

Explores the implementation of a cutting-edge knowledge management system in a midsize, specialty chemical company. The initiative, begun in the early 1990s, has received several awards for its efforts. In early 1999, the company is experiencing severe price pressures... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Trust; Knowledge Management; Chemical Industry

21 Jul 2009
Research Event

Business Summit: Managing Human Capital—Global Trends and Challenges

Investments in early childhood development are investments in a society's future human capital. The glass ceiling not only holds back women, it holds back business competitiveness. A sound diversity strategy is a talent strategy View Details

Keywords: Re: David A. Thomas

24 Oct 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, October 24, 2017

chemical company Novacap. For each company, the case describes how Ardian decided on the investment and established a board of directors and details the deliberations around... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2012
Case

Kent Chemical: Organizing for International Growth

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Laura Winig

In July 2008, Luis Morales, president of Kent Chemical International, is proposing a third reorganization effort after two failed attempts to better align his business with its U.S.-based parent company. With a global expansion strategy placing increasing demands on... View Details

Keywords: International Business; Organizational Change; Multinational Corporations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Multinational Firms and Management; Organizational Design; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Structure; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Culture; Global Strategy; Chemical Industry; United States

May 2016
Case

The Inexorable Rise of Walmart? 1988—2016

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In October 2015, Walmart surprised investors by announcing that it expected flat sales growth for 2015 and growth of only 3% to 4% over the coming three years. Profits would also fall due to significant investments in people and technology. The company’s stock price... View Details

Keywords: Asda; Costco; David Glass; Convenience Stores; Discount Retailing; Dollar Stores; Doug McMillon; E-commerce; Online Retail; General Merchandise; Grocery; Lee Scott; Mike Duke; Multichannel Retailing; Omnichannel; Neighborhood Market; Sam Walton; Sam's Club; Store Formats; Supercenter; Supermarket; Warehouse Clubs; Merchandising; Walmart; Wal-Mart; Globalized Firms and Management; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Units; Business Divisions; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Film Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Banks and Banking; Price; Profit; Revenue; Food; Global Range; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Global Strategy; Business History; Compensation and Benefits; Employees; Human Capital; Labor Unions; Wages; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Management Succession; Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Distribution; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Labor and Management Relations; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Diversification; Expansion; Segmentation; Information Technology; Internet; Mobile Technology; Online Technology; Web; Web Sites; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Arkansas; Bentonville

February 1987 (Revised October 1989)
Teaching Note

Rohm and Haas (A): New Product Marketing Strategy, Teaching Note

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

Teaching Note for (9-587-055). View Details

Keywords: Chemical Industry

June 1992 (Revised August 1992)
Case

Parker-Spencer: The Legal Form of Joint Ventures

Parker Co., a U.S. based agricultural chemical company with $4 billion in sales, has agreed to a joint venture with Spencer, Inc., a smaller U.S. based company, to develop and market a new herbicide for corn. The two companies must consider marketing, tax, and... View Details

Keywords: Business Organization; Joint Ventures; Taxation; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; United States

27 May 2014
First Look

First Look: May 27

funding involves setting amounts, agreeing to terms, and defining relationships. Purchase this case: http://hbr.org/product/raising-startup-capital/an/814089-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 814-102 Google View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2011 (Revised September 2013)
Case

The K-Dow Petrochemicals Joint Venture

By: Guhan Subramanian, James K. Sebenius, Phillip Andrews, Rhea Ghosh and Charlotte Krontiris

In 2007, the Dow Chemical Company and the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation announced plans to launch a multibillion-dollar joint venture. Later known as K-Dow Petrochemicals, it would be one of the largest manufacturers of chemicals and plastics in the world. Analysts... View Details

Keywords: Announcements; Joint Ventures; Chemical Industry; Kuwait; United States

April 2019 (Revised April 2024)
Case

Wendell Weeks at Corning Inc.: Extending a History of Life-Changing Innovations (A)

By: Ryan Raffaelli, David G. Fubini and Aldo Sesia

This case examines the leadership challenges associated with maintaining a culture of innovation in established organizations. It asks students to step into the shoes of a leader faced with making several tough decisions about when to invest (or to stop investing) in... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Invention; Organizational Culture; Innovation Leadership; History; Technological Innovation; Investment; Decision Making

November 2014
Case

Napalm: From Soldiers Field to Trang Bang

By: Tom Nicholas and Jonas Peter Akins

Napalm is one of the most destructive weapons ever to be invented. Yet, at its original inception it was nothing more than a technical challenge, and it was never intended to be used in indiscriminate antipersonnel warfare. The pathway of its development by a Harvard... View Details

Keywords: Moral Sensibility; War; Chemicals; Research and Development; Chemical Industry; Viet Nam; Cambridge; United States

March 2014 (Revised May 2014)
Teaching Note

The TELUS Share Conversion Proposal

By: Lucy White and Benjamin C. Esty

On February 21, 2013, TELUS announced a proposal to convert the firm's non-voting shares into voting shares on a one-to-one basis, thereby eliminating the firm's dual class structure. Shareholders were scheduled to vote on the proposal at the firm's annual general... View Details

January 1998 (Revised June 1999)
Case

Chemdex.com

By: William A. Sahlman, Michael J. Roberts and Laurence E. Katz

An Internet start-up company is developing an online marketplace for specialty chemicals and reagents. David Perry has been named a runner-up in the 1st annual HBS Business Plan contest and now faces seed-stage financing questions--how much money to raise, at what... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Internet and the Web; Chemicals; Business Startups; Capital; Chemical Industry